Cellar Door Society: Sensationator Doppelbock
Deschutes Brewery

Review: 2427
Name: Cellar Door Sensationator
Brewery: Deschutes Brewery
Location: Bend, OR
Style: Doppelbock
ABV: 9.9%
Canned: sometime during 2025
Date: 17 June 2025
I went to the Bend brewpub, and for my luck, it was closed for a party. I never returned to try anything; I might have to join the Cellar Door Society. Prying the cap off, which took a couple of tries, I hear a hiss. Using a flute, I served the beer at 46 degrees. The pour created a frothy, creamy, thre-fingered light tan head with an impressive retention. The somewhat slow dissipation left chunks of lacing on the glass. I determined the color in the chart at SRM 18: dark brown amber with reddish hues. The overall appearance is excellent.
Nosing the glass, I smell caramel, oak, bourbon, toffee, resin, Maillard, dark toasted malts, bready, malty sweetness, plums, raisins, a light phenol, floral esters, and a touch of booziness.
I tasted the bourbon at the first sip. It is boozy, with oak, resin, light orange peel, caramel, and char. Sipping the beer again, I detected toffee, raisins, prunes, dates, Maillard, bready, malty sweetness, grass, floral bouquet, light herbal, peppery, and molasses.
The mouthfeel is astringent, finishing warm. The body is medium-plus and has medium carbonation.
Final Thought: This is a big, boozy doppelbock oozing with bourbon. I would have preferred a slightly heftier malt bill to carry the barrel finishing further. Overall, it is a solid doppelbock, and I am glad I got to try it.

cool beer, former gabf silver winner, barrel aged, distinctive and impressive, didnt think it was quite as strong as listed here, like id borderline drink a pint of this happily, which i guess with how good it is doesnt really disprove anything about its strength, cool to have something i perceive as less common from these guys, although i dont know that for sure, its a great beer, barrel rich, complex, smooth, well lagered, strong but not absurd, and something that really warms up well, its all here, and this was a fun one to encounter. brick red to even mahogany, low glow, close to clear, some nice head on it, bigger bubbles, good to see some life in this. the nose is sweet and nutty, toffee and maple meet walnut and almond brittle to me, with some warming alcohol, vanilla and oak, whiskey and nice grain layers together, decidedly german with both the overall malt complexion and with the yeast, although the ferment is somewhat subtle at first, a bit more expressive later, dried fruitiness, autumnal and cozy, not overengineered. the flavor follows, bourbon sweetness on top of the grain, some back end bitterness and even a bit of barrel char balancing it, red apple and raisin, dried cherry and fig, milled limber and decaying wood and fallen leaves, acorns and pinecones and woodsy things, just a little perceptible alcohol, bready lager presence and some old world charm even though this is american whiskey forward. richer medium body, well and tasty, and although i think these guys have fallen off a bit with the quality of their regular commercial stuff, this is proof they are still capable of greatness, not that it was ever in doubt, the audience for this kind of this is probably small, but it slaps. cool version of the style, almost abbey-esque on the malt side as it warms, cool mineral profile too, earthy and complex, lovely.